EVAW Project Associate

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) and domestic violence (DV) are widespread social problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), constituting serious violations of fundamental human rights. This type of violence is still seen and tolerated as “socially acceptable behaviour” and is justified by the prevailing socially accepted gender norms on the role and status of women in the family and in society. Results of the first countrywide Survey on Prevalence and Characteristics of Violence against Women (2013) and Survey on Women Well Being and Safety (OSCE, 2019) indicated that almost half of women older than fifteen have been subjected to one or more forms of violence at least once in their lifetime. This research confirmed that women in BiH are exposed to a high risk of experiencing violence, primarily through their immediate, intimate relationships with partners and family, and secondarily in their broader community. Women who suffer multiple forms of discrimination such as women with disabilities, Roma women and rural women are at greater risk of experiencing such violence.

UN Women Country Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to supporting governmental and non-governmental led processes in the implementation of the Istanbul Convention and strengthening institutional and social response mechanisms to end violence against women and domestic violence. These efforts have been intensive since 2016 through the implementation of the project “Standards and Engagement for Ending Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2016 – 2019)” and implementation of UN Women strategic Note 2015 – 2021 both supported by Sweden and the regional program on ending violence against women “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” funded by the European Union. Work on the EVAW forms on the core objectives of UN Women Strategic Note 2021 – 2025.

Under the direct supervision of the EVAW Project Manager and overall supervision of the Programme Specialist, the EVAW Project Associate will support the implementation of UN Women Strategic Note with a focus on Impact 3: Women and girls live lives free of violence with particular attention to monitor, review and report on the financial and programmatic work of responsible parties, monitoring implementation of the UN Women Strategic Note 2021-2025; preparation, review and collection of documentation relevant for solicitation, evaluation and contracting of partners, consultants, companies and other type of the implementation of EVAW programme work.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the EVAW Programme Coordinator, and in close collaboration with EVAW project coordinators , the Project Associate is responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:

Support to project implementation, ensuring quality of business processes:

Ensures that submissions for the project and contracting documentation are prepared in line with the UN Women standards, rules, and regulations,
Coordinates procurement procedures for the project according to UN Women rules and regulations,
Assists in the organization of field visits, missions, workshops, trainings, round tables, and conferences within the project,
Maintains and updates all administrative, personnel and financial files and records as well as general office files related to the project implementation in collaboration with Project Assistant,
Assists in preparation of draft job descriptions, vacancy announcements, requests for recruitments, interview minutes and requests for contract as well as supports all procurement processes within the project,
Maintains and updates file management systems on SharePoint, local shared drive, and physical archives,
Prepares vehicle and security requests;
Performs any other duty as requested by the supervisor.

Support to project financial and programmatic monitoring, management, and reporting:

Prepares and processes project related financial transactions in the relevant system, such as vouchers, requisitions, purchase orders, customer/vendor info updates, project budget revisions etc;
Reviews partners’ financial and narrative reports, provides feedback, making sure full rate of completion and ownership of each review process in collaboration with EVAW Protection and EVAW Prevention Coordinators,
Monitors of partners’ financial situation by using Monthly Disbursement Plans,
Support data collection, monitoring and reviewing progress in the implementation of the project activities and ensures that all the data, when collecting and compiling inputs related to the programme, are gender and age disaggregated and evaluated from the gender point of view.
Supports UN Women annual and donor reporting processes in collaboration with Project Manager and Regional Program Manager,
Supports the project management in monitoring expenditures and commitments against project budget and relevant plans,
Provides finance-related data to support project implementation, planning and reporting,
Supports communications and visibility processes on all UN Women EVAW portfolio activities in line with donor requirements (EU, Sweden, etc.),
Assists team members, experts and consultants, in liaison with UN Women Operations, on financial and other operational matters.

Support to project planning, monitoring and reporting:

Collects, analyses, and presents information for monitoring and evaluation of project implementation against project targets,
Compiles and designs background information for formulation of project work plans, drafts annual/quarterly budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements, drafts quarterly project reports,
Monitors quality of delivery of inputs provided by the consultants, beneficiaries and contracted companies and communicates findings to the supervisor,
Maintains timetables for the partners’ coordination meetings, and other events and provides support to organizing and holding the meetings, including the preparation and dissemination of information, meeting minutes and follow-up.

Support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

Participates in the trainings for the operations/projects staff on HR, POPP, SoPs etc. and organizes briefings for the project staff where necessary on new internal procedures,
When necessary, provides guidance to project staff in business processes, administrative and other requirements, and procedures,
Contributes to data collection, knowledge management, networks and communities of practice.

Support gender equality mainstreaming within the Project.

Supports the Project in mainstreaming gender equality in the project implementation;
Ensures that all project documents prepared by the incumbent are written using gender sensitive language;
In the preparation of meetings/consultations/trainings ensures gender balance of participants as much and possible

Competencies

CORE VALUES:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

CORE COMPETENCIES:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

Ability to extract, interpret, analyze data and resolve operational problems,
Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work,
Ability to support a team and team building skills,
Strong IT skills and ability to apply it consistently in work tasks,
Good knowledge of administrative rules and regulations, organizational policies and procedures related to the position and ability to apply it consistently in work tasks,
Focus on results and positive response to feedback,
Attention to detail,
Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things,
Documents and analyses innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches,
Reports to internal and external partners in a timely and appropriate fashion,
Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet partners and donors needs and deadlines,
Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external partners,
Responds to partners needs promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Secondary education required.
BA degree in gender, development, public policy, social studies or closely related field will be considered an asset.

Experience:

Minimum six years (with secondary education) or three years (with BA) of progressively responsible administrative or project experience is required at the national or international level;
A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in project cycle management including project implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects,
At least 1 year experience in organizing events, conferences, high profile events,
Experience in working on gender equality and GBV, as well as knowledge on relevant normative and institutional framework in the gender equality will be considered as an asset,
Use of technology to design, visualize and present information and data will be considered an asset,
Previous experience working with UN or other international organizations will be considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

Excellent English and B/S/C language skills, both written and oral.